I've got to tell you that I thought you answered the question about the B12 with a complete lack of maturity and compassion. If that person felt that there was some comfort and value to watching the 700 Club who are you to mock them? One would think that in many ways YOU of all people would have more empathy. You need to apologize to that person and rethink your own greatness and place.

Response from Dr. Frascino

Hello,

Sorry my dear, but I'll stand by my response. The questioner wrote in with medical information that he/she heard on the 700 Club that was clearly inaccurate. No surprise there, considering the source. My assessment of that bogus information and of the loony 700 Club remains unchanged as does my advice to the questioner. (See below.) I'll also re-print another 700 Club classic from the archives.

Dr. Bob

b-12 to much & how to take
Dec 9, 2005

i was watching the 700 club and they said b-12 is excellent for just about everything, i saw the pharmacist at walmart and he said yes, never told me how to take it. i took it for about 2 weeks all the while my tummy is cramping something terrible which made me read the bottle in entirety. i was taking it wrong, it said one tablet daily under the tongue, i was taking it with my other vitamins. now my dr. has sceduled an ultra sound to find out about this lower cramping. could i have caused this and would i have such a side effect with a vitamin.

Response from Dr. Frascino

Hello,

Wait a minute! Hold the phone! You were actually watching the 700 Club for something other than comic value? Oh my my my. . . I think Pat Robertson must have an extra chromosome or something . . . . He's the wingnut who warned the city of Orlando that it would be hit by "terrorist bombs . . . earthquakes . . . tornados . . . and possibly a meteor" for supporting Gay Pride Month. Now he's ranting on about Dover, PA because they voted out the Faith-Based Intelligent Designers on the school board! And this is the dude you're going to listen to for vitamin advice? Vitamin B-12 is not "excellent for just about everything," but Robertson and his 700 Club is undoubtedly "good for nothing!" Vitamin B-12 supplementation should be used if you have Vitamin B-12 deficiency. My advice:

1. Follow your doctor's advice.

2. Change the TV channel.

Dr. Bob

700 club/Fiction or a Big Joke?
Jan 14, 2007

DR. Frascino, first and most important, I think I love you. Your recent and fabulous answer to prayer was fantastic,intelligent,I applaud you. Like church and state, we need to keep fiction from facts way apart. The 700 club and its followers have caused more human suffering then any other organization. People dont get sick, societies get sick. Humans do not suffer alone, but we all suffer together. We need to come together, everyone is so separated. Dr. Bob, I suspect not all things we will be able to be quantified and fully understand in any particular research study. There will never be a study that will make me fully understand; prayer, hatred, disease, bigotry, intolerance, murder, injustice, wars. Nor for that matter love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness, peace, and miracles, so much of what the world needs right at this moment. Dr. Bob, you keep doing what you are doing, I think its really neat, I think you are really need. I am not always certain my higher powers hears me, nor the stars, but I do thank them for people like you in my life, and in this world. Peace

Response from Dr. Frascino

Hi,

Thank you for your warm and generous comments. I'm quite confident the Higher Powers are hearing you now and to spread that message I'll post your comments on this site. That means about 1.5 million folks per month will also see your comments.

I'll also reprint the question you refer to below.

Be well. Stay well. May the Higher Powers grant peace and health to all.

Dr. Bob

Faith and HIV Jan 7, 2007

Hello Dr. Franscino. I enjoy reading your responses, you have an excellent knowledge of the HIV virus and have helped hundreds, if not thousands of people. However, I've noticed you seem to have a grudge against a religious view about HIV. I won't condemn you for your choice or view on faith and religion, but perhaps you shouldn't be so critical about someone else's views or opinions regarding faith and religion. I am a Christian and have been having some medical problems. I still go to the doctor when it's necessary, but I've also had good experiences with prayer as well, physically, emotionally, and psychologically. So once again, don't be so critical of faith and prayer. In a world of medicine and technology, sometimes faith is all we have.

Response from Dr. Frascino

Hello,

If you have had "good experiences with prayer physically, emotionally, and psychologically," fine and dandy. I'll never argue with success; however, scientific fact is fact. Religion is merely a belief. There is a difference.

As it turns out, loads and loads of folks "believe" prayer will help them through a medical crisis. And if a large group of people in addition to yourself, your family, friends, the 700 Club, whatever, add their prayers, that's even more helpful, right? Well apparently no, that's not right! Researchers have been trying to analyze and measure the effect of prayer for a number of years. Two often quoted studies suggested that third party prayers are helpful, but two other studies concluded there was no benefit. These conflicting results pushed researchers to design and conduct the most scientifically rigid investigation to study prayer to date. It involved 1,802 coronary bypass surgery patients at six different hospitals from Oklahoma City to Boston. It cost $2.4 million and was paid for by the John Templeton Foundation and the Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation of Memphis. The results were a clear setback for those who believe in the power of prayer. Let's just say their prayers were not answered! The study found that prayers offered by strangers did not reduce medical complications of major heart surgery. Perhaps most surprising was the fact that patients who knew that others were praying for them actually fared worse than those who did not receive this spiritual support or who did, but were not aware of receiving it. The research trial was called STEP (Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer). The full report was published in the April 4, 2006 issue of the American Heart Journal, if you'd like to see all the details.

I'm not anti-faith or anti-God and I do not have a grudge against anyone . . . well, other than Dubya and his "can't wait to surge" cronies, but that's another story. Personally, I, too, call on the Higher Powers to help me through challenging times. However, we shouldn't confuse science with myth or facts with fables.

"In a world of medicine and technology," if all you have is faith, then you are one of the 46,000,000 Americans who currently have no health insurance, which brings us back to the faith-filled Dubya!

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